2024 Volvo C40 Recharge Twin Motor First Test: Is Nice Enough?
The updated C40 is a really nice car, but the industry is moving faster than the quickest Volvo is.
Pros
- More range from the same battery
- Improved ride and handling
- Quiet, well-built interior
Cons
- Range is still on the low end of the segment
- Painfully slow charging speed
- Price is getting less competitive by the minute
The C40 has been a nice little EV SUV since it first hit the streets a couple of years ago, and the updated 2024 Volvo C40 Recharge Twin Motor is even nicer. With a range and, especially, charging speeds that still lag behind the competition, though, we have to ask: Is nice enough?
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Ignore the range and charge speed for a minute, and there's a lot to like about the updated C40. We found the previous version fairly underwhelming in both ride and handling, so while Volvo doesn't claim to have done any tweaking to the suspension, we liked this one a lot better. The ride is still firm, and the car still feels heavy and solid, but we didn't get the terribly brittle ride quality this time that we recalled from two years ago. So that's a plus.
Likewise, we found the handling perfectly acceptable this time around. This may be explained by the updated motors and their programming, which now feature a rear power bias. We were able to detect the difference just in normal driving, but it showed up in the numbers, too, albeit with mixed results. This upgraded model pulls more g on the skidpad at 0.83 average (up from 0.78), but its figure-eight lap time lagged by half a second at 26.8 seconds at 0.70 g average (up from 26.3 seconds at 0.72 g average). Our test team pinned the difference on more aggressive safety systems that can't be turned off but said the car was a little more fun to drive than before.
The fresh motors make the same combined horsepower (402) and slightly more torque (494 lb-ft, up from 486), but the real story is what they do with it. Somewhere in the motor design and controller programming, Volvo engineers found even more speed for what's already the quickest car they've ever done (at least until the EX30 finally goes on sale). Volvo hasn't shared what exactly is new about its in-house-developed rear motor and supplied front motor, but it wasn't the extra 8 lb-ft of torque or the 23 pounds trimmed from the curb weight that knocked 0.2 second off the 0-60 time. Whatever it is, the Twin Motor C40 will now get there in 4 seconds flat.
Smartly, those same engineers didn't mess with the accelerator programming. Driven in any normal, level-headed manner, the C40 accelerates confidently but not in a way that at all belies what it's capable of. For that, you've gotta floor it and put your head back before you do, because this thing leaps forward harder than your typical EV.
Unfortunately, the engineers also left the one-pedal driving software alone rather than take the opportunity to fix the hesitation between when you take your foot off the accelerator and when the regen kicks in. You learn to expect it, but it would be nice if it responded immediately. Of course, you can always turn it off and just use the brake pedal, but this is a car in which you want to maximize your efficiency.
This is where we stop ignoring the range and charging. It's not all doom and gloom, though; there's actually good news. Although the Twin Motor drivetrain retains the same 75-kWh (usable) battery, new motors and updated programming (which includes shutting down the front motor when it's not needed) has wrung another 31 miles of range out of the same electrons. That's a huge and welcome improvement, but it still leaves the all-wheel-drive C40 with 257 miles of EPA-rated range, which is more competitive but nowhere near the front of the class. A dual-motor Model Y, by way of comparison, will do 310 EPA miles for less money.
The picture gets dimmer when we consider the results of our MT Road-Trip Range Test, which involves driving at a steady 70 mph on the highway until 95 percent of the battery's energy is gone. In that test, the C40 Recharge Twin Motor made it just 172 miles. This earns it the ignominious distinction of having the widest percentage gap between EPA rating and test result. A Model Y Dual Motor Long Range returned 229 miles of range in the same test. On the plus side, we found the remaining range estimate highly accurate.
Then there's the matter of charging it. Rock up to your nearest DC fast charger, and the C40 tops out at 150 kW, which isn't a particularly competitive number (that Model Y does 250 kW peak). If the Volvo had a great charging curve that stayed at or near its peak for longer, that might be forgivable, but it doesn't. Charging from 10 to 80 percent takes 34 minutes, and we consider anything over 30 minutes to be slow. The charging champ in this space, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, will do it in 18 minutes.
At least you'll be comfortable. The C40's interior is whisper-quiet sitting at the charger and even at highway speeds (something that Model Y can't say, or shout as the case may be) and its seats are very comfortable. If you're among the new car buyers who hate "floating" infotainment screens (a.k.a. an iPad glued to the dash), you'll appreciate the fully integrated screen, even if it's on the small side. We've had good luck with the built-in Google Assistant and Google Maps in the past, though this time Maps locked up on us for most of a day and couldn't be reset by turning the car off and back on. Good thing it still supports CarPlay and Android Auto and will project them onto the instrument cluster screen.
Elsewhere inside, we appreciate Volvo's commitment to sustainable materials that still look and feel rich, and we like what it's willing to do with color and texture. The fractal textured trim that lights up at night is a cool party trick.
The upgraded C40 Recharge is, without a doubt, a better car. If you have a charger at home and don't plan to take it on any road trips, it's a great car. We'd take it over a Model Y if we just needed a commuter. Put one single road trip on the calendar, though, and we'll take a car that goes farther and charges faster for less money (especially with the current state of public charging).
That's the big rub. The C40 starts at $54,895 for a single-motor model (which gets better range and charges faster). Getting all-wheel drive bumps it to $56,645. A Model Y can be had for $46,770 with a single motor and $52,220 with all-wheel drive. In fact, pretty much any mainstream competitor is either cheaper or has greater range and shorter charging times or all of the above. The Model Y also still qualifies for the full federal tax credit under the new rules, while the Volvo gets nothing.
The C40 really doesn't look good until you cross-shop it against luxury brands. Think of it as a discount Lexus, Genesis, or Audi, and it's a lot more palatable. At $61,645 as tested, our top-shelf Ultimate model is right there with the Lexus and cheaper than the other two. All of those have equally disappointing range, but at least the Genesis and Audi will charge quicker.
On the other hand, there's the Volvo EX30 coming this spring. It's 8 inches shorter nose to tail, but it's also half the price to start and even quicker to accelerate, has greater range, charges faster, and has a bigger screen that does more stuff (though it is a floater). Point is, the C40 is great in a vacuum and great if you want a C40, but its position in the market is still tenuous even with the upgrade.
A shame, because it is, again, a really nice little car.
Were you one of those kids who taught themselves to identify cars at night by their headlights and taillights? I was. I was also one of those kids with a huge box of Hot Wheels and impressive collection of home-made Lego hot rods. I asked my parents for a Power Wheels Porsche 911 for Christmas for years, though the best I got was a pedal-powered tractor. I drove the wheels off it. I used to tell my friends I’d own a “slug bug” one day. When I was 15, my dad told me he would get me a car on the condition that I had to maintain it. He came back with a rough-around-the-edges 1967 Volkswagen Beetle he’d picked up for something like $600. I drove the wheels off that thing, too, even though it was only slightly faster than the tractor. When I got tired of chasing electrical gremlins (none of which were related to my bitchin’ self-installed stereo, thank you very much), I thought I’d move on to something more sensible. I bought a 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT and got my first speeding ticket in that car during the test drive. Not my first-ever ticket, mind you. That came behind the wheel of a Geo Metro hatchback I delivered pizza in during high school. I never planned to have this job. I was actually an aerospace engineering major in college, but calculus and I had a bad breakup. Considering how much better my English grades were than my calculus grades, I decided to stick to my strengths and write instead. When I made the switch, people kept asking me what I wanted to do with my life. I told them I’d like to write for a car magazine someday, not expecting it to actually happen. I figured I’d be in newspapers, maybe a magazine if I was lucky. Then this happened, which was slightly awkward because I grew up reading Car & Driver, but convenient since I don’t live in Michigan. Now I just try to make it through the day without adding any more names to the list of people who want to kill me and take my job.
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